Stacking device



Sept. 4, 1962 A. CUTAIA ET AL STACKING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledSept. 12, 1960 INVENTORS ALFRED CUTAIA RICHARD H. HARRINGTON BY 524. 2

A7TORN Sept. 4, 1962 A. CUTAIA ET AL STACKING DEVICE 2. Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Sept. 12, 1960 United States Patent Ofllice Meme,

3,052,468 STACKING DEVHCE Endicott, and Richard H. Harrington,

International Business Ma- N.Y., a corporation of Alfred Cutaia,

Vestal, N.Y., assignors to chines Corporation, New York,

New York Filed Sept. 12, 1960, tier. No. 55,475 7 Claims. (Cl. 271-71)This invention relates to devices for stacking out forms, such astabulating cards or envelopes having a certain degree of rigidity, andmore particularly relates to devices for stackin g at high speed outforms which are advanced thereto serially, lengthwise and at highvelocity.

In stacking cards at high velocity various problems are encountered. Thecard velocity must be reduced to zero in a manner which does not causecard damage. Cardedge to card-edge contact must be avoided to preventcard damage and/ or misstacking. Each successive card must commence thenext of the sequential phases of the stacking operation as promptly aspossible after its preceding card has completed such phase; and yet thecards must be stacked reliably in correct order. Also, the stackingdevice must be capable of stacking warped cards of varying contours,non-warped cards, and cards of slightly varying dimensions orcharacteristics due to manufacturing tolerances. Moreover, it should bepossible to remove cards during, and without interfering with, thestacking operation.

It is broadly known to drive cards through feed rolls and into contactwith a stationary deflector that deflects the cards downward in suchmanner that they will be stacked flatwise on the top of a stack. It isalso known to use a stacking pocket or bin having a resilient bumperlining attached to a vertical bin side wall and engageable by theleading edges of successive metal sheets to cause them to rebound towardthe opposite vertical side wall and be stacked flatwise on the top of apile. Also it has heretofore been proposed to provide a means for bowingcut forms longitudinally to increase their regidity. However, whilethese previously proposed arrangements are suitable for low speedparallel stacking (i.e., with long edges of the cards disposedtransversely of the card feed path), they are not practical or suitablefor high speed serial stacking (i.e., with the short edges of the cardsdisposed transversely of the card feed path). For example, theseprevious arrangements do not embody means for positively snapping thetrailing portion of a card out of the path of a succeeding card rapidlyenough to permit high speed serial stacking without jams or collisionswhic can result in card damage or stacking out of order. Also, they donot stack cards or other forms in such manner that they may be removedduring, and without interfering with, the stacking operation; nor dothey employ an adjustable deflector, the angle of which can be varied toassure optimum operation over a high range of stacking rates.

The principal object of this invention is therefore to provide animproved relatively inexpensive stacking device especially adapted tostack out forms, such as tabulating cards, serially lengthwise at highspeed.

According to the invention, the improved stacking device comprisesaccelerating feed rolls through which the cards are fed successively. Aflexible guide means straddles the rolls and is biased toward contactwith an adjustably positionable inclined guide. As a card moves throughthe guide means, it will be bowed longitudinally thereby and flex theguide means away from the guide and create a gap through which the cardadvances in sliding contact along the guide until its leading edgeeflectively contacts a deflector that is spaced from the guide andpartially bends the card transversely. Thereupon the card will passbeyond the guide means and pivot about the forward end of the guide asit tends to straighten itself. This will snap the trailing edge of thecard down out of the path of the succeeding card as the card movestoward contact with a resilient stop that cushions the impact to preventcard damage and also stores energy that will cause the card to reboundback through the space between the deflector and guide and toward anoscillating joggler element. This joggler element cooperates with areciprocating member to joggle the cards onto a stack and maintain themcompacted.

The foregoing and other objects, features and advantages of theinvention will be apparent from the following more particulardescription of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustratedin the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view of a stacking device embodying theinvention;

FIG' 2 is an enlarged view of a portion of FIG. 1 showing feed rolls anddeflectors, with a flexible one of said deflectors in a normal position;

FIG. 3 is a view like FIG. 2 except with the flexible deflectordeflected by a card to an abnormal position; and

FIG. 4- is a section view taken along the'line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

Description As shown in the drawings, the improved stacking de vicecomprises two pairs of cooperating upper and lower feed rolls 1, 2 (seeFIG. 4) transversely spaced at substantially equal distances from theaxis of a card feed path P. The upper feed rolls 1 are mounted on ashaft 3, and the lower feed rolls 2 are mounted on a shaft 4; and atleast one of said shafts is positively driven by suitable means (notshown). Cards C are fed successively lengthwise along path P and intorolls 1, 2 by at least one pair of feed rolls 5, 6 of a card transportsystem. The rolls 1, 2 preferably have a peripheral velocity somewhathigher, such as 20% higher, than the peripheral velocity of rolls 5, 6so that the cards C will be accelerated somewhat by the feed rolls 1, 2.

Two transversely spaced leaf-spring-like guides 7 extend downpath instraddling relation to the outer sides of the rolls 1, 2. Each guide 7has a substantially vertical leg secured, as by screws 8, to arespective fixed member 9. The guides 7 also have curved legs whichextend downpath from the upper ends of their respective vertical legsand generally horizontally but with slight upward curves past the outersides of the adjacent rolls 1, 2. The free ends of the curved legspreferably normally project slightly into respective transversely spacedslots 10 in a guide 11 and resiliently contact the flat under surface11a of guide 11 adjacent such slots. These slots 10 are formed in theguide 11 near its one end which is adjacent the exit side of feed rolls1, 2.

As illustrated, the guide 11 is rockably supported near its said one endon a pin 12 that passes through an upturned lug on the guide and iscarried by side frames 13, only one of which is shown. A screw 14 passesthrough an arcuate slot 15 in another lug provided near the opposite endof the guide 11 and is screwed into one of the side frames 13 to permitthe guide to be clamped in a desired angular position, for reasonshereinafter explained. As shown, the guide 11 is clamped so as to extenddownwardly at an angle of approximately 10 to the card feed path P, andthe guide surface 11a is slightly less than the length of a card C.

A stationary deflector 116 has a concave deflecting surface 17 which isspaced from the lower end of guide 11 to define an opening or gap 18through which cards may be advanced in an upwardly curved path intocontact with a resilient stop 19; thereupon they will rebound from saidstop and fly downward in a path prescribed by surface 17 toward theconcave surface of a concavo-convex sheet-like joggler element 20. Morespecifically, the lower end of surface 17 is below the lower end ofguide surface 11a, and surface 117 curves upwardly and generally awayfirom the lower end of surface 11a. Deflector 15 has a suitable earwhereby it is secured to a fixed bracket 21. The resilient stop 19 is inthe form of a block clamped between a U-shaped part of the deflector 16.When a card C strikes resilient stop 19, the step will yield, absorbingthe impact and converting the kinetic energy of the card into potentialenergy in the stop. The card will be brought to a stop without damage,and then the energy stored in the stop 1? will act with gravity to drivethe card downward through the opening 18 toward the joggler element 20.

Element 20 is secured at its upper end, such as by the screws 8 to thefixed member 9*. Element 20 is oscillated a limited degree relative toits fixed upper end by a suitable actuating means.

This actuating means may comprise a continuously or intermittentlyrotated cam 22 that acts through a roller follower 23, carried at oneend of a generally horizontal member 24, to exert a force on the lowerend of element 20 via an upwardly projecting part 25 of said member anda projection 26 extending from the convex surface of element 20. Thisforce flexes the element 26 relative to its fixed upper end and towardan inclined card support 27. As the low point of cam 22 moves towardfollower 23, the flexing force on element 2% will be relaxed. Due to itsinherent resiliency, element 20 will tend to resume its normalunstressed position and, through projection 26 and part 25, shift member24 rightward to maintain follower 23 in contact with the cam. Thus,element 20 will be oscillated by reciprocation of member 24 with afrequency determined by the velocity of cam 22.

Member 24 projects upwardly through a longitudinal slot 28 in the uppersurface of a hollow longitudinally extending card-bed-providi-ng member29. Member 2% houses a helical bias spring 30 hooked at one end to thelower part of inclined support 27 and at the other end to a stationarypost 31 carried by a fixed member 32 to the top of which member 29 issecured by suitable means (not shown).

Summary of Operation As a card C is fed by transport rolls 5, 6 into thepairs of accelerating rolls 1, 2, it will be bowed by the beveledsurfaces of the guides 7 (see FIG. 4) to increase its rigidity. The cardwill deflect the resilient guides '7 downwardly out of contact with thethen stationary guide 11 and create a gap (see FIG. 3). As the cardpasses through gap 35, it will be deflected by guides 7, 11 into slidingcontact with the under surface 11a of guide 11. After the leading edgeof card C passes through gap 18, it will be deflected upwardly in acurved path by contact with guide surface 17 or with a preceding card.

Shortly after such contact is established, and before the leading edgereaches stop 19, the trailing edge of the card will pass beyond the leftend of the guides 7. The trailing edge of the card will promptly snapdown and leftward as the card tends to straighten itself and pivots dueto sliding contact with the lower end of guide 11, as shown in FIG. 1.The leading portion of the card will then continue to slide upward alongthe curved surface 17 or flat side of a preceding card until the leadingedge hits the resilient stop 19. The energy absorbed by the stop 19 instopping the card C will cause the card to rebound off the stop and moveback down through gap 18 in a curved path dictated by the guide surface17. After the trailing edge of the card moves past the lower end of theguide surface 17, it will hit the joggler ele- 4 ment 2 and come to restinclined against the inclined card support 27 or a preceding card.

As the joggler element 29 and member 24 are respectively oscillated andreciprocated in the manner already described, a gap will be created at36 between the inclined card support 2'7 (or the cards already stackedthereon) and the left end of member 24; and the respective cards C willbe joggled off the left end of member 24 and down onto the card bedmember 29. As the leftward ly acting component of force exerted on theinclined support 27 increases due to the increasing weight of the cardsC, the card support 27 will be moved correspondingly leftward againstresistance of spring 30 and toward its extreme position as indicated bydotted lines in FIG. 1.

It will be noted that a group of cards C next to the inclined support 27may be removed at will during, and without interfering with, thestacking operation; and the spring 3-8 will move the supportcorrespondingly rightward to maintain the cards compacted. Also, thecards are accelerated by rolls 1, 2 to provide a high stacking rate; andguides 7 not only bow the cards to increase their rigidity, but alsohold the cards up out of the path of a preceding card. The cards reboundfrom the resilient stop 19 which absorbs their kinetic energy andconverts it to potential energy which later acts to propel the cards ina generally opposite direction toward the joggler element 2%. Theangularity of guide 11 can be adjusted by screw 14 to provide optimumoperation at various preselected stacking rates, which rates are afunction of the velocities of the rolls 1, 2; generally, this angularityshould be increased for increased stacking rates, the angularityillustrated having been found optimum for stacking at the rate of about1500 cards per minute.

It will be understood that, if preferred, the slots 10 may be eliminatedand the guides 7 provided with nonbeveled edges which normally engagethe under surface 11a of guide 11; and the guides 7 need not bow a formif it has sufiicient inherent rigidity. Also, the flexible guides couldexert suflicient upward force on the under side of a non-bowed form tocreate a gap only wide enough to permit the form to ride through thegap, so that the form will be lightly pinched between surface 11a andthe guides 7. Also, the guides 7 need not be flexible but couldintersect the guide surface 11a at a fixed acute angle except for aslight fixed gap at the apex of such angle.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described withreference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will. be understood bythose skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in formand details may be made therein without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. in a form stacking device, the combination of two guides havingstraight portions substantially intersecting at an acute angle, one ofsaid guides extending a distance less than the length of a form forwardof the apex of such angle, means feeding the forms successively throughthe apex to cause each form to slide successively along said one guide,and a deflector spaced from the forward end of said one guide fordeflecting a form angularly after its leading edge passes beyond saidforward end, said form being bowed transversely by being constrainedbetween said forward end and deflector to cause the trailing portion ofthe form to snap away from said one guide after its trailng edge passesthrough said apex and beyond the other guide, whereby a form will besnapped promptly out of the path of a succeeding form and the succeedingform will be directed by said other guide into contact with said oneguide.

2. In a form stacking device, the combination of two guidessubstantially intersecting at an acute angle, one of said guidesextending a distance less than the length of a form forward of the apexof such angle, means feeding the forms successively through the apex tocause each form to slide successively along said one guide, resilientstop means, and a deflector spaced from the forward end of said oneguide for deflecting a form toward said stop means after the leadingedge of the form passes beyond said forward end, said form being bowedtransversely by being constrained between said forward end and deflectorto cause the trailing portion of the form to snap away from said oneguide after its t'r-ailng edge passes through said apex and beyond theother guide and before said leading edge hits said stop means, said stopmeans resiliently stopping the form and causing it to rebuond backthrough the space between said forward end and deflector.

3. A card stacking device comprising feed rolls through which cards arefed successively, a guide having an effec tive portion forward of therolls and inclined to the card path into the rolls, flexible guide meansstraddling and extending forward of said rolls and biased toward contactwith said guide, said guide means being flexed away from said guide by acard as it moves through the rolls to create a gap through which suchcard can advance in sliding contact with said effective portion, and adeflector spaced from the forward end of said portion to deflect a cardand bow it transversely around said forward end before its trailing edgeleaves the guide means thereby to cause the trailing portion of the cardto snap away from said guide as soon as said trailing edge leaves theguide means due to its inherent tendency to straighten itself as itpivots around said forward end and moves through the space between saiddeflector and forward end.

4. The combination according to claim 3, including resilient stop meansdisposed adjacent the deflector and contacted by the leading edge of acard after it has snapped away from said guide, said stop meansyieldably stopping said card and storing energy to rebound the card backthrough said space in a path generally defined by the deflector.

5. The combination according to claim 4, including joggler means intocontact with which said card is rebounded by said stop means, and meansfor actuating said joggler means to joggle cards successively off thejoggler means and onto a stack.

6. In a form stacking device, the combination of a stationary guidehaving a flat guide surface inclined downwardly and forwardly at aslight angle to the horizontal,

flexible guide means having a curved guide portion biased into cont-actwith said surface near the rear end thereof so as to form an acute anglewith said surface, means for driving the forms successively through theapex of said acute angle to cause each form to slide successivelydownward and forward along said surface, and a deflector having aconcave surface spaced from the forward end of said flat surface andextending from a point generally below said forward end and upwardly andgenerally away from said forward end, the distance between said guidemeans and said concave surface being less than a form length to cause aform to be successively partially deflected by the deflector after itsfront edge passes beyond said forward end to bow the form transverselyby contact with said forward end and then, as soon as the rear edge ofthe form leaves the guide means, cause the rear portion of the form tobe snapped down out of the path of a succeeding card as the formadvances along a curved path substantially as dictated by said concavesurface.

7. In a form stacking device, the combination of two guidessubstantially intersecting at an acute angle, one of said guidesextending a distance less than the length of a form forward of the apexof such angle, means feeding the forms successively through the apex tocause each form to slide successively along said one guide, a deflectorspaced from the forward end of said one guide for deflecting a formangularly after its leading edge passes beyond said forward end, saidform being bowed transversely by being constrained between said forwardend and deflector to cause the trailing portion of the form to snap awayfrom said one guide after its trailing edge passes through said apex andbeyond the other guide such that a form will be snapped promptly out ofthe path of a succeeding form and the succeeding form will be directedby said other guide into contact with said one guide, and means forpreadjusting the angular position of said one guide in an arc to varythe angularity of its said forward end relative to the deflector topermit optimum operation over a wide range of stacking rates.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,363,490 Avery Nov. 28, 1944

